Travel Companions
by Elihice
Summary: XTRC: What if Seishirou wasn’t the only one traveling? (Vague spoilers for TRC volume six). Subaru's POV added
1. Default Chapter

**Travel Companions**

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"There's another thing."

"Is the eye not enough?" he asks, still getting used to the difference. He can feel the power on his right eye. The prize seemed fair enough.

The witch of dimensions smiles and walks towards one of the doors, not bothering to look if he is following her "I want you to travel with another person. Your meeting was destined to happen"

Before he can reply, she opens the door allowing him to see a slim figure clad in black and white. The other's eyes open in surprise, Seishirou gives him an astonished look before quickly getting hold of himself and smiling politely.

"Hello."

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There are so many interesting differences in this Subaru; observing his travel companion is quickly becoming one of his favorite ways to pass the time.

The first thing he notices is that this Subaru is strong. Of course the one Seishirou is looking for is strong too, but it's a different kind of strength. The Subaru crossing dimensions with him has the eyes of man who has nothing left to loose.

While Seishirou has made a choice long ago to pay whatever price this journey costs him, he values his life. The dead cannot find what he is looking for. Subaru throws himself into danger in such a careless way that it's almost as if he welcomed death. Yet death does not touch him, leaving only traces of blood on his clothes that Subaru doesn't bother cleaning until Seishirou gently reminds him that they're scaring the locals.

The world they are currently in is nothing worth of mention, except for a few scrapes of information and fairly good food. Is like nothing he has ever tasted but Seishirou enjoys the new experience while he continues to observe the man in front of him. For all the way he acts, Subaru is human, obliviously mortal, and sometimes he does fall. It's rare, but he has seen the other defeated by sleep or hunger. Seishirou pushes a second plate in front of Subaru and knows that this is not the first time- and won't be the last- that he has to remind his companion of eating.

The stare Subaru gives him before taking the plate in front of him is an odd mixture between longing and anger. It last only for a second, but enough for Seishirou to wonder just how different were things for the other Seishirou and this Subaru.

Maybe not that different.

"Eat, Subaru."

They call each other by first name only, no honorifics. There's really no sense using them: their ages are too similar for one to call the other _-san_ and Subaru nearly hisses the first time Seishirou tries to call him "_Subaru-kun_".

Those names belong to someone else.

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It was bound to happen someday, the witch of dimension had warned him of such eventuality but he had never given the notion much importance before. Maybe Subaru has thought about it, because he is extremely still, barely making a sound as he breathes.

Blooming trees hide them from stranger's eyes while they stare at a couple on the other side of the park. If Seishirou has ever found weird to travel with a Subaru, staring at another Seishirou is even weirder.

There's a Sumeragi Subaru in this world- a veterinarian- and a Sakurazuka Seishirou- older, a lawyer-. There's even a Sumeragi Hokuto and a lot of teasing involved in the affair. Fate, although often cruel and ruthless, likes irony. Of all possible versions, the first one they meet is this one.

This Subaru and this Seishirou walk under the sunlight, holding hands and discussing dinner.

The couple eventually disappears after rounding a corner in the road and for a while neither Seishirou, nor his companion, say a word. The witch's words linger on his head. Bound souls.

"What we are looking for is not here." Subaru finally speaks and Seishirou knows it's his way of saying 'let's go'. It's funny how it's not until the world twirls and disappears that he realizes that this Subaru and his have something in common, besides the obvious.

They're both terrible liars.

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Creepy omake: What did Subaru give Yuuko as payment?

There are many weird things in Yuuko's shop. Most of them just collect dust for him to clean, but there are some that are different. In the middle of the garden there's a beautiful sakura tree. It blooms all year, even during the winter. This is not the weirdest detail, since few things follow natural patterns inside the shop, but it' the fact that Watanuki can hear the tree.

Even when he is inside of the shop, Watanuki can hear it whispering. He can't understand what it says, he just knows something.

It's _hungry_.


	2. Chapter 2

Subaru's POV this time.

**Chapter two**

"Are you sure?"

He is. There's nothing to keep him in this world; not his responsibilities as onmyouji or as the thirteenth head of the Sumeragi clan. The end of the world, angels and seals, no longer matter. The final battle came and went, leaving a large amount of things broken, but no one as shattered as he is.

When the witch names her prize he doesn't hesitate to cut the last tie. It doesn't feel like he is losing something. He can't be both sides of the coin at once, so it's fitting that he is now none.

For a moment- minutes- he is free. Nothing binds him to this world or any other, until the door opens again and he doesn't need the witch to tell him that there are ties that cannot be severed.

"Hello."

# # # #

His companion is looking intently at him without even bothering to hide it. It unnerves him to no end, but he fixes his gaze on the wooden table and does his best to ignore the scrutiny.

_"I'm not yours"_ He wants to say _"You are not mine"_, despite the fact that neither of them need to be reminded who the other silent players of this game are. Because it's a game this time, not a hunt, and Subaru is not quite sure if he can adapt to a new dynamic.

Seishirou makes a pause in his examination as two steaming plates are set on the table. After cautious try, he hums appreciatively and resumes his observation. Subaru directs his eyes to look elsewhere. He aches for a smoke

He had thought at first that it would be the perfect opportunity to stop, to get rid of that habit at last. It almost is. Cigarettes can be found in some worlds, but he's never sure when he is going to be able to find them and, when he does, the taste is all wrong.

He doesn't bother searching for cigarettes anymore; he just follows Seishirou like a shadow and hopes the want will go away. But the need is still there, strong as ever. Sometimes Subaru can still catch the feel of it when he awakes, a dry taste of ashes on his mouth. It's the same for the Seishirou: sometimes Subaru can almost smell a faded mix of blood, flowers and cigarettes. Maybe the want won't go away even if he tries. It's a perfectly good excuse for staying.

"Eat, Subaru"

This Seishirou doesn't immediately stir memories of a gentle smile and a blissful year. The appearance is completely wrong except for the occasional pair of glasses that never seem to match the young face under them. Worst of all, the main element is missing and Subaru cannot make up his mind if this is a blessing or a curse. The facade is not there, and if there's ever a mask on his companion's face, is mostly for show. Cruelty, kindness, indifference, interest, they are all there under plain sight.

This Seishirou is not the man he /never/ knew.

# # # #

"What we are looking for is not here."

The world twists like his heart inside his chest. Even when his feet can no longer feel the ground under them, he is still walking in the land of what might have been. It takes the weight of a hand in his shoulder for him to get back to reality.

"Subaru"

It takes only a second to remember three words, spoken by a slightly deeper voice. For the first time Subaru is completely sure they weren't a lie. There are some ties that cannot be cut, because they are the only things that hold him in place.

Their feet touch grass, the arm falls back into place and the journey is resumed as if nothing had changed. This time, Seishirou is not the one who watches.

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End file.
